BoxRec

Here are some fighters who were on a roll up until a loss that seemed to zap them of the will to fight. Maybe the loss was a devestating knockout that he just was'nt able to recover from. Feel free to expand on why a particular loss would ruin a fighters career or maybe you disagree and think it was some other factor that led to a boxers demise such as injury. Or I'm sure their have been other fighters you might think of so feel free to ad some of your own instances.

Ken Norton-Fought arguably his best fight against a prime Larry Holmes only to get knocked out in round one against Earnie Shavers and fight Scott Ladoex to a draw.

Davey Moore-Apeared destined for big things after winning a title before being stopped by Roberto Duran. He seemed to regress after this.

Matthew Hilton-A loss to unhearalded Robert Hines and he was never the same fighter.

Livingstone Bramble-Had a rather undistinguished career until a pair of victories against Ray Mancini. People were talking about him as the next rising star until he was knocked out in the second round against Edwin Rosario and was pretty much forgotten about.

Donald Curry-Looked like he was heading for a showdown with Marvin Hagler until he was stopped by Loyd Honeyghan. Was unable to regain his top form after that.

Pippino Cuevous- after a devestating ko against Thomas Hearns he started to lose on a regular basis.

Naseem Hamed, though I think his passion for the sport had left him long before.

Although he captured another title (so did Curry), MELDRICK TAYLOR. Because of the beating he took from Chavez (either opinion you have about Steele's decision, it's clear that Taylor took a serious beating) or because of losing so controversially?

My all time favourite fighter, Matthew Saad Muhammad is guilty of this.

After Qawi battered him, he lost again to Qawi in the rematch, he seemed to go from all action, exciting champ, to mega journeyman & ended up losing most of his last fights. :(

Mike Tyson!

He was never the same after Douglas spanked him.

All his head movement went, he stopped throwing combos & seemed to lose heart when faced with adversity.

His whole life seemed to unravel & we all know what happened to him after that.

I think it happened to Tyson after Douglas. I think it stripped him of his invincibility. His talent allowed him to win some after this, but he was never the same (the jail time didn't help either).
Same with Foreman after Ali... in reality, it took him more than 13 years to recover from that loss.
Also, Frazier after Foreman, though I think that was more physical erosion than mental.

David Reid had potential but Tito along with his eye ended his run.

Barry McGuigan was never the same after the Steve Cruz loss.

Jeff Fenech was never the same after the Azumah Nelson loss.

Mac Foster
Meldrick Taylor
James Tillis
Donald Curry
Carl Williams

The McGuigan choice is so true, but let's be realistic, what Irish or British or any European fighter from a cold climate would ever be the same after enduring what Barry endured. He almost lost his life, not to mention his career. I still believe he deserved the decision in that fight. He got robbed

hebrew_hammer wrote:I think it happened to Tyson after Douglas. I think it stripped him of his invincibility. His talent allowed him to win some after this, but he was never the same (the jail time didn't help either).
Same with Foreman after Ali... in reality, it took him more than 13 years to recover from that loss.
Also, Frazier after Foreman, though I think that was more physical erosion than mental.

Good shouts.

I don't see a word mentioned about altitude...and it's likely impact on this conversation.

Hector "Macho" Camacho after the Rosario fight.

Leon Spinks after Ali showed he was just lucky.

~A.W.F~

Syntax Error wrote:My all time favourite fighter, Matthew Saad Muhammad is guilty of this.

After Qawi battered him, he lost again to Qawi in the rematch, he seemed to go from all action, exciting champ, to mega journeyman & ended up losing most of his last fights. :(

He would also fit into the category of fighters who stuck around to long. Always painful to see a once great warrior reduced to a stepping stone.

Willie Dewitt

Gerry Cooney just could not regroup after losing to Holmes.
He had nothing to be ashamed of he put forth an outstanding effort.

AndreWardFan2006 wrote:Leon Spinks after Ali showed he was just lucky.

~A.W.F~

I disagree in the sense that for once Leon trained right and turned up in shape and stuck to his trainers gameplan.

Leon fought a hard, smart fight that night. Sure he was lucky to catch an old Ali but that wasn't Leons fault.

expug wrote:Gerry Cooney just could not regroup after losing to Holmes.
He had nothing to be ashamed of he put forth an outstanding effort.

Good call and I agree 100%.

KOJOE90 wrote:Barry McGuigan was never the same after the Steve Cruz loss.

Jeff Fenech was never the same after the Azumah Nelson loss.

it was more the "draw" against nelson that ruined Fenech.
like johnny lewis said...they didnt just rob him of the world title that night, they robbed him of his heart and soul

Well Nelson wasn't chopped liver than night either...though I will say Jeff did enough in my estimation to win....but the highly educated and disciplined judges always know best.

My greater point here is that you don't beat Azhuma without taking a beating yourself and he did.

borinken25 wrote:Hector "Macho" Camacho after the Rosario fight.

I never thought of that, a fighter who was unable to recover from a win.

expug wrote:Gerry Cooney just could not regroup after losing to Holmes.
He had nothing to be ashamed of he put forth an outstanding effort.

Cooney just was not mentally tough. I think that is one area where the fighters of an earlier era had a definate advantage was their mental toughness.

kick asner wrote:

expug wrote:Gerry Cooney just could not regroup after losing to Holmes.
He had nothing to be ashamed of he put forth an outstanding effort.

Cooney just was not mentally tough. I think that is one area where the fighters of an earlier era had a definate advantage was their mental toughness.

I agree.
The old timers just didnt seem to worry too much about dropping one.
They knew it was all part of learning the trade.
Fritzie Zivic after losing a fight would say "I didnt do to bad . I ran second".

John Mugabi fought his heart out against an aging Marvin Hagler, never was the same especially getting KTFO by Norris.
Leon Spinks after losing to Ali in the rematch never sustained the same amount of success.
Meldrick Taylor one of my faves all time, was never the same after losing to Chavez.